1. #1

    Ready to Buy build, looking for input

    Heya, Champs

    Just wanted to post my build here and see what people thought! The budget is ~$2500, has to include a great monitor for both gaming and art work, and last at least 5 years but allow for expansion/additions. My current PC is an old pre-built Dell Inspiron 530 from ~2005/6 (can't remember) and when it was bought it was done so on a very small budget. So, now, I'm upgrading in a big way and looking for some input.

    Here she is: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

    CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
    CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Best Buy)
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
    Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($199.99 @ Amazon)
    Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
    Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($728.99 @ SuperBiiz)
    Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($139.86 @ NCIX US)
    Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
    Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($46.99 @ Newegg)
    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
    Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K95 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
    Other: HUE Led Controller ($30.00)
    Total: $2232.73
    (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
    (Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-23 07:31 EDT-0400)

    What I intend to use it for:
    Primary
    -Gaming
    Secondary
    - Music production (in 2 bm/dm bands and sick of my current rig crashing my DAW).
    - Digital art. (Zbrush, Adobe suite, lightwave, etc.)

    I'm pretty set on most of the parts (I think) but the monitor is the only thing I haven't nailed down 100%. I have done a TON of research on all the pros and cons of TN vs IPS and their differences. I could probably recite monitor-speak in my sleep at this point. I need something great for gaming but also good for blu-ray viewing and color reproduction so if any of you guys have some solid suggestions for a monitor that would be more than capable for those needs I'm all ears. I'm able to spend up to $400 on the monitor.

    Anyway, thanks for taking a look! If you have any other suggestions or comments leave 'em below and I'll try to respond asap
    Last edited by Vallius; 2014-04-23 at 11:35 AM.
    "No better burden can a man carry on the road than a store of common sense." - Hávamál, st. 10

  2. #2
    Deleted
    I dont think the 780ti is worth its money at this moment. You are much better of with a 290(x) or normal 780. (speaking from a gaming perspective)

    With the money you save with going for either a 290(x)/780, you can get a 1440p screen which will most likely help a lot more with your digital art than a 1080/1200p IPS panel.

    I would look into the dell ultrasharp 2713HM, if you go with another GPU than the 780ti. If you are sticking with the 780ti, I would probably go with a dell 2413HM or similar model.

  3. #3
    Dreadlord Zippoflames's Avatar
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    Ooooh I built the exact same computer for myself a month ago only difference with mine is I went for the Corsair 750d case :P

  4. #4
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    1) Do you need an i7?
    2) Do you need 16gb ram? (Even if you did, there's 16gb that are almost half that price)
    3) There are cheaper PSU's
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  5. #5
    Herald of the Titans Cyrops's Avatar
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    If you don't want to waste money, these RAM will be superior http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair...6gx3m2a2133c10
    Also what @Chazus said +1
    PM me weird stuff :3

  6. #6
    1) Do you need an i7?
    - I believe I do. I intend on OC'ing this thing and running multi-threaded applications. I'll also be running a dual monitor setup, too, and, yes, I know that's more dependent on the GPU than the CPU, but still, better to aim higher than lower.

    2) Do you need 16gb ram? (Even if you did, there's 16gb that are almost half that price)
    - Do I need it? Maybe not. But given the things I'll be doing (Zbrush and Maya, specifically) I think more is better. I got these because of the lightbar, tbh. Do I need that? Hell no. Will it make the guts look that much more badass? Hell yes.

    3) There are cheaper PSU's
    - I wanted something fully modular and 80 gold certified with more than enough power to cover ANY needs I had for the next 5 years. I love EVGA's products and besides, this is the psu that I was pointed to by numerous people on reddit so I feel pretty good about going with it. Forgot to mention I want these over the stock black cables http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14...N8X2QSW7#blank.

    So, yes, I could save a bit more money going with cheaper things but when the budget is this big I feel like I can get away with some "wants" over "needs". However, that doesn't mean I'm opposed to revisions. In all honesty I may end up going with some blue G-skills, for instance, to allow me to splurge on a better monitor.

    @Cyrops - Any particular reason for those over, say, http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-...31866c9d16gxm? I'm trying to stick to a white/black/blue theme.

    As to that, any suggestions there? Looking to spend ~$4/500. My second monitor will be the one I'm using now (720p) for basic web use and maybe some workflow in Adobe suite or DAW use.
    Last edited by Vallius; 2014-04-23 at 06:03 PM.
    "No better burden can a man carry on the road than a store of common sense." - Hávamál, st. 10

  7. #7
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    - I believe I do. I intend on OC'ing this thing and running multi-threaded applications.
    I only ask because a lot of people think that hyperthread helps "running lots of programs". In this case, Maya does not benefit from Hyperthreading. Zbrush... I don't know. Everything else largely doesn't. I'd call that a waste of hundred bucks at this point.

    - I wanted something fully modular and 80 gold certified with more than enough power to cover ANY needs I had for the next 5 years.
    Gold certification is a gimmick, straight up. A good 650w Bronze Modular would be cheaper and cover any power needs. Power demand is going down. Not up.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by chazus View Post
    I only ask because a lot of people think that hyperthread helps "running lots of programs". In this case, Maya does not benefit from Hyperthreading. Zbrush... I don't know. Everything else largely doesn't. I'd call that a waste of hundred bucks at this point.
    Alright, so the i5-4670k would be a better option. What -is- the point of the 4770 chip, then?


    Quote Originally Posted by chazus View Post
    Gold certification is a gimmick, straight up. A good 650w Bronze Modular would be cheaper and cover any power needs. Power demand is going down. Not up.
    I think it's just my paranoia, there. As long as it's modular and doesn't lose too much energy I'm fine going with a lower watt bronze.
    "No better burden can a man carry on the road than a store of common sense." - Hávamál, st. 10

  9. #9
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vallius View Post
    What -is- the point of the 4770 chip, then?.
    Some stuff does use it. Streaming and some video editing benefits (but even then, I wouldn't recommend it unless it was something you made money off of). It just happens that Maya and most things don't use it. Think of it more like a "Professional" version.

    As long as it's modular and doesn't lose too much energy I'm fine going with a lower watt bronze
    To be clear, Gold isn't -bad- but they generally cost more. A $100 Gold equivalent of a $60 Bronze will save you $5 a year probably. If not less. It would take 8-10 years to just break even, let alone start making electrical savings.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  10. #10
    So, do you think more games will be going the 8 thread route in the future? For the hundred bucks, is it worth locking down that bit of future proofing now? Or should I just wait and maybe upgrade it later since this board supports both?

    Also, any suggestions for a monitor that would suit my needs? I was looking at this BenQ http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2420TE-...=BenQ+XL2420TE, for instance.

    Also considering the monitor that Zeara suggested, as well: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-U2713HM-I...rasharp+2713HM
    Last edited by Vallius; 2014-04-23 at 07:02 PM.
    "No better burden can a man carry on the road than a store of common sense." - Hávamál, st. 10

  11. #11
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vallius View Post
    So, do you think more games will be going the 8 thread route in the future? For the hundred bucks, is it worth locking down that bit of future proofing now? Or should I just wait and maybe upgrade it later since this board supports both?
    I've seen no indication that games are heading that way, outside of like.. one or two getting a marginal benefit. I'm not gonna shell out $100 to get 10fps better on a game I might or might not play.

    There's lots of talks of "we totally will do that" but they've been saying that for years, and devs have proven that they aren't.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  12. #12
    Fluffy Kitten Remilia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vallius View Post
    Also, any suggestions for a monitor that would suit my needs? I was looking at this BenQ http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2420TE-...=BenQ+XL2420TE, for instance.

    Also considering the monitor that Zeara suggested, as well: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-U2713HM-I...rasharp+2713HM
    Within your price range.
    If you want one of the BenQ one you'd go for XL2420Z/XL2720Z, the newer one better specced / updated.

    If you have a huge emphasis on color accuracy and it's basically a profession, get the U2414H. If you need, get a i1Display Pro for calibration unless you're prepared for a $800 spectrophotometer. Color Munki is also apparently okay being a cheaper alternative.


    In terms of a balance with gaming and good color accuracy, then yeah, U2414H with a low lag and pretty good default calibration.
    Of course none of these are wide gamut displays. If you're going for wide gamut, you'd look for one of the NEC PA series or Eizo Color Edge.

    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2414h.htm
    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_xl2720z.htm

    Most image editors, like photoshop, utilizes multicore pretty well and consumes an asston of RAM. So 16GB isn't such a bad idea.
    Last edited by Remilia; 2014-04-23 at 09:09 PM.

  13. #13
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Remilia View Post
    like photoshop, utilizes multicore pretty well and consumes an asston of RAM. So 16GB isn't such a bad idea.
    Eh, photoshop.. sorta does? But many of the CPU based calculations it does are short anyway. The difference between my Core 2 Duo and 3570K is almost none.. However, yes.. it does use a ton of ram, which is why I didn't have any qualms about keeping that. An SSD makes a big diff too.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  14. #14
    Fluffy Kitten Remilia's Avatar
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    It's nice when you do batch filtering but I don't know if he'd be doing stuff like that.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Remilia View Post
    Within your price range.
    If you want one of the BenQ one you'd go for XL2420Z/XL2720Z, the newer one better specced / updated.

    If you have a huge emphasis on color accuracy and it's basically a profession, get the U2414H. If you need, get a i1Display Pro for calibration unless you're prepared for a $800 spectrophotometer. Color Munki is also apparently okay being a cheaper alternative.


    In terms of a balance with gaming and good color accuracy, then yeah, U2414H with a low lag and pretty good default calibration.
    Of course none of these are wide gamut displays. If you're going for wide gamut, you'd look for one of the NEC PA series or Eizo Color Edge.

    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2414h.htm
    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_xl2720z.htm

    Most image editors, like photoshop, utilizes multicore pretty well and consumes an asston of RAM. So 16GB isn't such a bad idea.
    Well, I think I'm pretty much sold on that Dell, Remilia! After reading through TFT's review it just sounds perfect for what I'm going to use it for (Primarily gaming, but media creation, too). Thanks a million for commenting and those links

    And yeah, I figured the extra RAM would come in handy and I have the money for it, so why not? I'll most likely swap out the i7 for the i5-4670k, swap out the PSU for a little cheaper version, and I'm still torn on those RAM sticks. They'll look so killer in this set up! But, yes, I could save 30 bucks or so and downgrade. We'll see on that one

    Thanks for commenting everyone, I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions!
    "No better burden can a man carry on the road than a store of common sense." - Hávamál, st. 10

  16. #16
    Herald of the Titans Cyrops's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vallius View Post

    @Cyrops - Any particular reason for those over, say, http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-...31866c9d16gxm? I'm trying to stick to a white/black/blue theme.
    Yea, 2133mhz vs 1866mhz? :P

    Sorry not gonna get such good RAM with your color theme, get the inferior ones that match your theme *dramatic eye roll*
    PM me weird stuff :3

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Cyrops View Post
    Yea, 2133mhz vs 1866mhz? :P

    Sorry not gonna get such good RAM with your color theme, get the inferior ones that match your theme *dramatic eye roll*
    The difference in scale between those will be marginal at best for what I'm doing, I'm not really missing much. So, yeah, I'll stick with the flair
    "No better burden can a man carry on the road than a store of common sense." - Hávamál, st. 10

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